Californication

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Californication ranks 587 out of the 18,418 shows on TV.com.

The 9,995 users who count themselves as Californication fans have written a total of 87 reviews.

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Premiered

Genre

Theme

David Duchovny is the lead in this comedy about a book writer always running into trouble with sex, drugs and women, while struggling to maintain a relationship with his ex-girlfriend and trying to raise his daughter in a less than normal environment for a teenager.

David Duchovny is the lead in this comedy about a book writer always running into trouble with sex, drugs and women, while struggling to maintain a relationship with his ex-girlfriend and trying to raise his daughter in a less than normal environment for a teenager. less

• 3x07 So Here's The Thing ...

  So Here's The Thing ... Episode #31 Original air date: November 8, 2009 From Sho.com: "Eager to set things right with Kar...more

  So Here's The Thing ... Episode #31 Original air date: November 8, 2009 From Sho.com: "Eager to set things right with Karen again, Hank tries to distance himself from the ladies of the university. But after Dean Koons (PETER GALLAGHER) catches Hank in an intimate moment with Jackie (EVA AMURRI), Hank finds himself more entangled than ever. Meanwhile, his attempts to cool things off with Felicia (EMBETH DAVIDTZ) and Jill (DIANE FARR) begin to backfire. Adding insult to injury, Becca calls Hank out on the awful example he's been setting for her. Charlie fights to keep Sue Collini's (KATHLEEN TURNER) favorite client (PETER FONDA) from leaving the agency. Later, Sue asks Charlie for a most curious favor." Please use this thread to discuss the episode. less

  WhiteKnightonTV
  1 comments, last one 1 hr, 44 mins ago + Add Comment

• 3x06 Glass Houses

  Glass Houses Episode #30 Original air date: November 1, 2009 From Sho.com: "Back in L.A. for a short visit, Karen hatches...more

  Glass Houses Episode #30 Original air date: November 1, 2009 From Sho.com: "Back in L.A. for a short visit, Karen hatches a plan to move the family back to New York for good. Hank's mighty pleased, but Becca's crestfallen about leaving her new best friend, Chelsea (ELLEN DAVIS WOGLOM). After inviting herself to Hank's class, Karen meets the comely ladies of the university: T.A. Jill Robinson (DIANE FARR) and sexpot student Jackie (EVA AMURRI). Later on, tempers flare when Becca and Chelsea get into some serious trouble and Hank and Karen are forced to pay a tense visit to Chelsea's parents, Felicia and Stacy Koons (EMBETH DAVIDTZ, PETER GALLAGHER). Charlie is crushed when Marcy loudly consummates her girlhood-crush on Rick Springfield (RICK SPRINGFIELD). But Sue Collini (KATHLEEN TURNER) thinks up a creative way to restore Charlie's confidence." Please use this thread to discuss the episode. less

  WhiteKnightonTV
  6 comments, last one 2 days ago + Add Comment

• Problems with Seaon 2

  What's the deal with Rock Band product placement they say Rock Band like 15 times in the first 6 episodes then it shows them...more

  What's the deal with Rock Band product placement they say Rock Band like 15 times in the first 6 episodes then it shows them playing the game at least 7 times. I know they got to make money but this is riduclous. Also Hank gets laid within 1 minute of meeting a girl. He is not a actor, rock star or pown star in the show. Also he is over 40. Random girls come up to him and say want to have sex. I know its a show but come he's a book writer in his 40's with a kid and wife kinda. This is such B.S. Anyone else think this is out of hand??? In the last episode he said N***@ Please how can he even get away with that without Jesse Jackson and everyone coming after him. But Imus says nappy headed hoes and he gets fired??? less

  JohnnyDrama8 Last online 2 days ago
  19 comments, last one 6 days ago + Add Comment

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  8.5 Great

  Californication is a show that breaks all of the rules in scriptwriting, but that is precisely what makes this show so interesting and watchable…week after week. It's drama, it's comedy, it's over the top with just the right amount of reality thrown in. hide show

  Admittedly, I tuned into Californication initially to catch my favorite celebrity, Rick Springfield, but I stayed for more than just Rick. I like the overall pace and energy of the show. No, some of the scenarios aren't original, in fact, a number of the ideas are lifted straight from the 1970s, including the title, but that's ok. It's a story retold and re-tooled so it makes it as if original. Half the fun of watching Californication is figuring out which pop cultural references or stereotypes are being employed…and exactly what kind of statement is being made. This shows makes you think without become overly intellectual or pedantic about it. What I like best about Californication is that the main character, Hank Moody, is not a formulaic 'sympathetic' character that most TV shows and books insist on having as leads. Things don't always go right for him, and to be honest he brings a lot of his troubles upon himself. It's the same thing with the Charlie Runkle character. By many standards, both men are 'losers' but you can't help but want to root for them when they do show their vulnerability…especially Charlie because he does have a heart of gold.
  
  Another one of the reasons why I like this show so well is the casting, particularly in the 3d season. There's none of the let's go down to Central Casting and 'round up the usual young and nubile suspects' and have ONLY those types on the show. In the real world, not everyone is thin, blonde, pretty and under age 35 and it's time TV shows reflected that reality. It's great that the writers of Californication casted veteran actors like Kathleen Turner, and gave her them the strong and multi-dimensional role that serves as the walking talking karma out there just waiting to start biting people in the butt. If I had Sue Collini's chutzpah, let me tell you, I'd rule the world! I don't watch much television, so for me to make the time to watch Californication every week says something. I look forward to seeing what they'll come up with next.

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  SabrinaMessenge Added 4 days ago All my reviews
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  8.5 Great

  How long, How long will I slide? hide show

  Although I enjoy each and every episode of Californication, I find myself wondering how long this show can go on. Can Hank still be alone yet with Karen in season five? Can Mia still be deliciously evil jailbait? Will Becca still be beautiful muse for her father, guiding him with her naivete and optimism?
  
  All in all, this show is most interesting because it delves into Hank's mind. He is flawed, and yet loved in spite of all of his mistakes. As viewers, we are astonished by his hijinks and relieved when he is accepted.
  
  The only issue being: How long can Karen and Becca take his crap before they lose it? How believable is it that they continue to love him in spite of all of the terrible and misguided things he's done? When will these characters cease to be believable?

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  ashlinisme Added Feb 11, 2009 All my reviews
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  7.5 Good

  Californication, a witty, raunchy, and modern show about Hank Moody's love-affair with himself, devolves into a love-affair with itself. hide show

  Let's be clear on one thing: Californication is a show that premiered with Hank Moody receiving fellatio in a church to The Rolling Stones' "You Can't Always Get What You Want." Its protagonist is a sexaholic who hates the city he lives in, because that's a lot easier than taking responsibility for his life. But there is a fine line between embellished observations about human nature, whether they take place in the office or in the bedroom, whether they are dramatic or hysterical, or both at the same time, and pursuing obscenity for obscenity's sake.
  
  Thanks to David Duchovny's pitch-perfect portrayal of Hank Moody, from his sardonic wit to his genuine affection toward his friends and family (whether that means making sure his daughter's doing okay in school or that his best friend isn't discovered cheating on his wife with his kinky assistant), season one was an instant classic. We saw Los Angeles through Hank's distorted perspective, and saw Hank through the city's, which, more often than not, was the more reliable of the two. I wrote, what seems like ages ago, in the Whore of Babylon review:
  
  ------------------------------------
  "There are things I need to figure out. For [Becca's] sake at least.
  
  The clock is ticking. The gap is widening. She won't always love me "no matter what."
  
  For all the sex and nudity, the crass jokes and witty banter, it is ultimately Hank's unquestionable love for his daughter that inspires him to work through his own issues, even when it would be so much easier to drown in a sea of endless female genitalia.
  ------------------------------------
  
  Californication was not the only modern dramedy about living the life -- Entourage is in a far more prime position for that -- but David Duchovny took advantage of the focus on a broken family by providing insights on genuine love and responsibility.
  
  It is tempting to watch Evan Handler's interactions with his secretary and say, "That's not so different from what happens in Season 2." But it is. In season 1, the raunchy subplots were a diversion from the main course offered by Hank, yet many of season 2's episodes focus on the dysfunctional Runkles who spend half of the season doing cocaine, half of the season filming a porn flick, and a good portion attempting to do both at the same time. If it sounds funny, it probably was. But such extensive toilet humor used to be above Californication, and from the outside looking in, one might guess that the writers simply decided to crank up the obscenity factor until it was the only thing left on show. These scenes are necessary, as they might be the core of the show's humor and nature, but without the relevant human element to connect them, they are meaningless and forgettable. Without impacting Hank's journey as a father, lover, and human being, they are trivial adventures, nothing more. Maybe David Duchovny should have taken Hank's epiphany to heart. The clock was ticking. We wouldn't always love Californication no matter what. -pW

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  pureWasted Added Jan 15, 2009 All my reviews
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  8.5 Great

  Nothing so good could last for long. hide show

  Nothing so good could last for long. Watching the first season i thought it was so unexpectedly good- i mean David Duchovny pleeeease!!- and wanted more and more. Next season? What a disapointment!!! Who could thought that such an original and smart idea would end like this. You could simply watch the pilote episode and then the last one and you could see what i am talking about. Where is this witty, dark humour that got me hooked since episode 1 first minute? Still a must see for its first season and its amazing cast-lets leave Mia out of this!

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  Jamanfou Added Jan 7, 2009 All my reviews
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  9 Superb

  A hilarious, insightful show about one man trying to find inspiration for his art, and meaning in his personal life, while battling demons in a soulless and sex-obsessed Hollywood. http://dagblog.com/arts-entertainment/moft-episode-5-californication-385 hide show

  http://dagblog.com/arts-entertainment/moft-episode-5-californication-385
  
  Californication boasts some of the most memorable characters and situations on TV today, with some of the best, cleverest discussions about sex, and relationships, and art, and parenting, and a hundred other interesting topics, all the while navigating that fine line between comedy and pathos better than any series I can remember watching.
  
  The show is anchored by Duchovny, in a convincing portrayal of a character who is at his core a good-hearted, moral family man, but who just can't escape his demons and completely grow up. It appears that given what we now know about the actor in real life (i.e. his sex addiction), Duchovny was born to play Hank Moody. Even if there's not a lot of acting going on there, I'm still very impressed (Duchovny has a surprisingly impeccable comedic timing).
  
  The other main asset of the show is the mother of Moody's child, Karen Van der Beek. The terrific and stunning Natascha McElhone plays the Baby Mama as the perfect straight foil to Moody. She is brilliant, responsible, and wise, but she's not perfect either (her affair was the initial reason the two broke up) and more often than not empathizes with Moody's restlessness and forgives his various transgressions. She is also clearly the love of Moody's life (and vice versa), and you can't help but root for the two to live happily ever after, even though you know the show will not - cannot - allow that to happen.

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  deadmanblogging Added Jan 7, 2009 All my reviews